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Cricket and C Spire to Offer iPhone 5 Beginning September 28 [Updated]

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Apr 12, 2001
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While the three major U.S. iPhone carriers AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint will be launching the iPhone 5 on Friday, September 21, it will not take long for availability to extend to other carriers. Cricket Communications and C Spire Wireless have both announced that they will begin offering the iPhone 5 one week later on Friday, September 28.

cricket_logo.jpg



Both of the carriers were pioneers in the U.S. iPhone market, with C Spire being the first regional carrier to begin offering the iPhone last November while Cricket was the first U.S. prepaid carrier to launch the iPhone this past June. The iPhone is now available on 16 different U.S. carriers, but it is unclear when the iPhone 5 will come to the remaining carriers.

c_spire_logo.jpg



Neither Cricket nor C Spire has offered any launch details beyond the September 28 availability date.

Update 8:06 AM: Several of the other regional carriers have also confirmed that they will launch the iPhone 5 on September 28:

- Appalachian Wireless
- Bluegrass Cellular
- Cellcom
- GCI
- Golden State Cellular
- Nex-Tech Wireless
- nTelos
- Pioneer Wireless

Article Link: Cricket and C Spire to Offer iPhone 5 Beginning September 28 [Updated]
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2012/09/13/cricket-and-c-spire-to-offer-iphone-5-beginning-september-28/
class77

class77

macrumors 6502a
Nov 16, 2010
831
92
DrJohnnyN said:
What region uses these carriers?
Click to expand...

C Spire covers MS, Memphis TN, Alabama and the panhandle of FL. Elsewhere, they partner with Verizon. They are scheduled to launch their own LTE network starting in Sept.
 
Spock

Spock

macrumors 68040
Jan 6, 2002
3,418
7,240
Vulcan
tinkafoo said:
It's all but confirmed: Apple utterly hates T-Mobile for some reason.
Click to expand...

It's T-Mobiles 1700mhz 3G band that I'm sure has stopped a T-Mobile iPhone, with the switch T-Mobile is making to 1900mhz and iPhone 5 compatilble LTE next year, we might see a T-Mobile iPhone 5S.
 
J

jimbo999

macrumors newbie
Jun 9, 2004
23
0
class77 said:
C Spire covers MS, Memphis TN, Alabama and the panhandle of FL. Elsewhere, they partner with Verizon. They are scheduled to launch their own LTE network starting in Sept.
Click to expand...

Just to add to this...C Spire has launched LTE in McComb, Greenville, Brookhaven, and Meridian, MS.
 
K

kwfl

macrumors 6502
Aug 20, 2007
403
0
I will be in Houston Sep End. Will I be able to buy an officially unlocked iPhone 5? No contracts as I won't be using it in the us.
 
T

Tiger8

macrumors 68020
May 23, 2011
2,479
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tinkafoo said:
It's all but confirmed: Apple utterly hates T-Mobile for some reason.
Click to expand...

No! you see Cricket, C-Spire, Virgin, even BoostMobile all lease bandwidth from Verizon and Sprint, so really with both big carriers on board, small carriers are bonuses, and ensure that Apple extends its reach.

T-Mobile has its own technology for 3G, and will require engineer from Apple's side. But that said, they are moving their HSPA+ to the same frequencies as AT&T so you can get your own unlocked one and save a load using their 'bring your phone' plans or better yet prepaid.

T-Mobile is getting a nano-SIM mid October.

----------
kwfl said:
I will be in Houston Sep End. Will I be able to buy an officially unlocked iPhone 5? No contracts as I won't be using it in the us.
Click to expand...

Check with Apple store, but if they don't have factory unlocked one, buy an AT&T, pay full price, and they can unlock the phone in the store for you.

Careful though, it requires a nano, not micro, sim. This will delay those who want to go their own way.
 
M

mrholder

macrumors regular
Jan 3, 2009
147
6
Awesome! I will be getting my first iPhone through C Spire. Hopefully I won't have to change to a capped plan. I've had an unlimited plan with them for a few years, but now they're rolling out LTE in the major cities around here. Heard a rumor that any upgraders will have to choose a new plan.
 
stukick

stukick

macrumors regular
Sep 20, 2000
151
18
Cool, so all my friends on well fare and food stamps can get in on the iPhone craze.
 
HobeSoundDarryl

HobeSoundDarryl

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Feb 8, 2004
12,250
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tinkafoo said:
It's all but confirmed: Apple utterly hates T-Mobile for some reason.
Click to expand...

Probably because T-mobile won't bet their whole company on the iPhone by doing what Sprint did (commit to a huge volume of iPhone unit purchases whether Sprint can actually sell them or not). FYI: Sprint is feeling the pain of that bet (already).

T-mobile wants to sell the iPhone. Apple just doesn't want to sell the iPhone through T-mobile without a Sprint-like commitment by T-mobile. And I'm sure the trio with pretty much uniform pricing for contract service doesn't want T-mobile to join the little party. After all, a nationwide carrier who could offer the contract-side of the purchase at a lot less than the trio could really cut into the trio's profits on iPhone... maybe even drive service cost averages down for us consumers.
 
Last edited:
Agent OrangeZ

Agent OrangeZ

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Mar 17, 2010
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partyBoy said:
Nope, thats a myth, alot of people think that but its NOT true, have you ever had a "pay by the month" phone service?
Click to expand...

Really... because I could have sworn that Cricket only has LTE in 1 or 2 markets. I think only in Tucson... I heard. Either way... it is NOT as much as AT&T or Verizon. LTE is the new standard for speed. EV-DO is very much "a dirt road now."
 
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